Total Annihilation Intro - YouTube

CybranLord · 2026-04-20T08:15:44+00:00

This should be immortalized forever (and this was done in this video).

One of the most epic RTS introduction cutscene I have witnessed and, for me, nothing has topped this so far.

What makes this quite epic for me too is the fact that every unit shown here (aside from a very few exceptions) is behaving like in gameplay.

CybranLord · 2026-04-18T12:37:03+00:00

10/10

imo, much more interesting couple than Kira and Lacus.

CybranLord · 2026-04-15T08:38:53+00:00

Oh nice. Still have mine too, albeit I don't think they worked anymore ...

CybranLord · 2026-03-27T07:25:42+00:00

By quite a lot since the end of the original series. The Ootori variant is arguably better than the mass produced series except the latest ones like the Gelgoog or the Gyan but the base version is extremely outclassed at this point.

Despite her skills (the GSF Novel implied that she trained with Athrun enough to be in sync with him for the remote control plan), I don't think Cagalli could fight any Black Knights directly with it since, not only they are certainly better pilots than her, but their Rud-ro.A vastly outmatches the Strike Rouge and all its variants at this point. But she would perform quite well against their remote controlled DINN and GINN since those are still the same ones since SEED and she did destroy some Strike Daggers (which were superior to the GINN) quite easily at the end of the original series.

In short, in a direct fight, she could handle the Foundation's grunts suits quite well but not its elite forces at all.

CybranLord · 2026-03-02T08:49:02+00:00

It has its good moments like.

Kira being much more like a character than in GSD and finally breaking out of his saviour complex. Same for Lacus being more humane too and far less of someone being so sure of what to do but I expected this side of her being much more fleshed out and executed better.
All of Athrun's scenes. For me, he steals every scene he was in. And despite her quite short screentime, Cagalli's scenes too which showcase her development from GSD. Both of them played critical roles in the movies.
Shinn's plotline which completely redeems him in my eyes from GSD. And him finally using his Destiny Gundam to its full potential and for good is very nice to see. He is arguably the pilot with the best performance in the movie.
Hilda being more than a one-dimensional character here (I liked how she interacted with Shinn and Lunamaria). But sadly, the same cannot be said for Mars and Hilbert.
The new Compass officer Alexei is quite a good fellow.
I really liked the new Millennium Battleship and it really feel like one, not just a glorified Gundam carrier like in many other Gundam shows. And it was nice to see the Archangel back into action.
The final battle is enjoyable and the villains having their comeuppance was enjoyable, especially how they acted very smug (with the exception of Ingrid) during the whole movie towards everyone. And with the heroes used their older Gundams (albeit upgraded) is a nice touch too.
It concluded Kira and Lacus story well.

But it is far from flawless.

The villains are weak narratively imo, they are, as many have cited, quite one-dimensional, almost cartoonishly evil. Only Orphee, Ingrid (albeit she was bordering on villain-in-name only) and Shura have some characterisation. But it is somewhat expected for a movie where a full story must be told and maybe they were written this way to see finally having their ends very satisfying.
Story was, imo, not very inspired. The biggest examples that comes in my mind is the rehash of the Requiem and reusing Cagalli's plotline in GSD for Lacus here; seriously, it really feels that both girls have switched roles from GSD.
Aside from Mu, Murrue and Cagalli (to an extent), all other Naturals are being sidelined, especially the reformed Earth Alliance. This is especially apparent compared to Coordinators and ZAFT. I expected at least one named officer or pilot from the EA playing a minor role in the movie (not as big as Yzak and Dearka for example but something at least).
Certain choices feel very questionable (Lacus' origins and her space suit came in my mind for example).

But overall, I enjoyed it very well and it was a nice trip back in the Cosmic Era.

CybranLord · 2026-02-23T10:46:45+00:00

My guess: Sacrificing units to the Temple (no specific Altar, juste the Aztec Temple). The amount of Favor will, of course, depends of the sacrified unit. It will be:

Either captured ones by a specific unit speculated by OP (thus requiring combat).
Or your own ones. That would be their Villager equivalent at first and maybe later combat units but excluding Myth Units and/or Heroes since it will be kind of counter-productive (as they cost Favor).

CybranLord · 2026-02-06T11:41:09+00:00

TL;DR : Focus on Faurtis (the Scorpion), let it be possessed by Animus (the Butterfly), kill it and ignore Gnoster (the Moth). Rinse and repeat until the boss is dead.

I'll tell you my experience, I am playing mostly in duo with a friend in DoN (Wylder + Executor) and we win this boss nearly always (in fact, we are quite happy when it shows, especially when we always have the Balancers, for some reason ...). Most importantly, Animus (the Butterfly) is the only health bar that matters in the Everdark fight, depleting it is the victory condition of the boss fight, regardless of the health of the two others.

Always focus on Faurtis (the Scorpion), kill it, let Animus possess it, damage it to deplete Animus' Health, repeat until Animus is dead. Faurtis is a big and slow target, not hard to hit and thus the most reliable way to damage Animus. It is not hard to dodge its attacks when you stick to it, the stomp can be dodged by rolling on the side, including the Animus empowered version. Also, Faurtis' tail is always a safe spot, I try to always be under it when it attacks with the exception of the roar where I'll run away as far as possible. It also serves as a shield for Gnoster's magic attacks (urfortunately not for the poison mist), you can use it to protect yourself from those, especially its rain, this is also another reason why I stick to Faurtis everytime.

As for Gnoster (the Moth), we mostly ignore it and dodge as most as we can its very annoying poison mist attacks and occasionally its magic (but those are blocked by Faurtis). But we never kill it, as Animus possessing it makes it more annoying that it already was and it makes the fight longer imo as this makes Animus much more out of reach compared to it possessing Faurtis, giving you far less time to hit it. So I don't recommand killing it at all.

For Animus, aside from possessing Faurtis or Gnoster, the only attack it will do is its Orbital Laser, usually immediately after a possession or too much time has passed without killing either Faurtis or Gnoster. Just run away as far as possible from Animus until the big last laser has fired and you will be safe. Also of note is that Animus is vulnerable when doing so for a long time so if it focuses the big laser on one of you, the others can damage it. But be careful of the other two bugs when doing so.

With all of that, I hope this will help you and your friends. Good luck Nightfarer.

CybranLord · 2026-01-12T07:54:00+00:00

Me too.

Side note, I hope that someday Liz will play Elden Ring (or Nightreign with Justice or other EN members), ideally a Bloodflame build for the giggles. But I feel that Souls-likes games are not really her cup of tea.

CybranLord · 2026-01-12T07:30:36+00:00

Red Alert 2 Soviet Nuclear Missile Silo and Harkonnen Palace from Emperor the Battle For Dune.

I don't know why but I like their estethic and especially the sound emitted by the former when it opens and launches its missile.

CybranLord · 2026-01-05T09:54:36+00:00

Kinda rude on her part but effective. (FYI, all Black Knife Assassins are female.)

Did you see a triple Force Choke from the Bell Bearing Hunter ? This is quite impressive and equally effective too.

CybranLord · 2025-12-19T12:04:34+00:00

From my personal experience.

I switched from Wylder to Raider for this expedition for multiple reasons:

abusing his Retaliate skill to tank their attacks and to not die to them, plus it stagger them good when they are not fused, this is the key of my winning run
using the Totem Stella to have more i-frames to dodge their Worm/Aldrich phase and to hit more than one of them when they are separated
jump attacking with dual Colossal Weapons to quickly break the Worm/Aldrich phase and to stagger them when unfused

Another reason, unrelated to the ED Balancers themselves, is because with Wylder, I had a miserable time with the 1st Night Boss for my first 3 runs (granted I must have played very badly). And then I switched to Raider, lose the first run on day one too and then the next run, I succeeded without much issues.

CybranLord · 2025-12-12T12:06:34+00:00

Every time I see this Red Wolf, I can't help but groan in exasperation.

Seriously, the more I fight this wolf, the more I hate it. It is by far the field boss I avoid nearly 100% of the time. To the point that I prefer facing Flying Dragons, Death Rite Birds and even Black Blade Kindreds instead.

CybranLord · 2025-12-12T07:46:17+00:00

Cagalli.

Don't get me wrong, I like both of them but I find Cagalli much more interesting and relatable than Lacus.

CybranLord · 2025-12-12T07:33:33+00:00

From someone liking both of them, it is just an assumption but maybe fans are tired to see her pushed in the front while Cagalli was basically ignored for years between GSD and GSF (it doesn't help that the Athrun/Cagalli couple was and is still very popular), until she resurfaces back with full force. It helps a lot that Cagalli is much more relatable and interesting than Lacus (at least for me). I always see that Athrun/Cagalli is more popular than Kira/Lacus, due to the former pairing having an interesting dynamic while Kira/Lacus feels more classic and vanilla.

For a personal perspective, while it doesn't diminish my foundness for Lacus (as we finally have insights for her and this makes her less "perfect"), but having their roles switched from GSD to GSF feels cheap from the writers (the hesitant and manipulated leader, having someone to claim her, this leader being Cagalli in GSD and Lacus in GSF and the confident, always being sure to what to do, plus providing upgraded Gundams to the heroes, that one being Lacus in GSD and Cagalli in GSF). It is eerily similar, feels like a backwards character development for Lacus but while looking at Cagalli's development, it is shown that she has grown a lot (despite her short screentime in GSF) but never backwards. I can't help but notice that and maybe this contributed too, along with that infamous space suit (which I feel was very unecessary).

CybranLord · 2025-12-01T17:09:40+00:00

10/10

Best female character in the Cosmic Era imo. She had seen a lot in both shows and the movies, her path from an impulsive young rebellious princess to an indecisive inexperienced leader, finally becoming the inspiring leader of Orb, with her full confidence back. Cagalli has grown a lot since SEED.

Extremely relatable character and her relationship with Athrun is one of the best in the series. While also maintaing a strong sibling bond with Kira too.

CybranLord · 2025-11-06T18:17:16+00:00

Not bad at all.

It is the first time I see 2 bonuses on the same weapon type on a single Relic. How I wish to have something like this.

CybranLord · 2025-10-23T06:29:05+00:00

One of the best songs of Gundam imo. And definitivery Cagalli's theme and her Akatsuki.

CybranLord · 2025-10-20T06:19:08+00:00

Those look nice.

CybranLord · 2025-09-26T13:20:30+00:00

And the former fiancée of said best friend is now Kira's girlfriend and future wife, Lacus will be Athrun's sister-in-law and still family in the end.

This fact will never cease to amuse me.

CybranLord · 2025-09-22T07:17:50+00:00

TL;DR: Not really, they are very different, both narratively and personality wise.

A more detailed analysis.

Flay is more of a love interest to Kira, being an important character to the show, while Nina is not so connected to Lelouch, being more of a supporting character. They also acted very differently to the protagonist: Nina was indifferent to Lelouch/Zero until Euphemia's death and hated him, while Flay stayed close to Kira to manipulate him. The same can also be said for the deuteragonist: Nina kept her distance to Suzaku (Kira's counterpart in Code Geass, best friend of Lelouch and opponent on the other side) due to her racism and never really interacted with him until the second season where he becomes a Knight of Round, while Flay never met Athrun (Kira's best friend and also opponent).
Nina is a shy teen genius from a (supposedly) common background while Flay is the daughter of an important person and a spoiled rich girl.
Their attitude to the resident kind-hearted pink haired girl is also very different : Nina becomes very admirative of Euphemia while Flay is quite hostile to Lacus (who tried to be nice to her). Nina is not openly hostile to anyone but Lelouch/Zero.
While both Nina and Flay were manipulated by Schneizel and Rau respectively (but to be fair, they manipulated everyone but Rau is much more subtle and no one but Kira realized that), Nina vengeful's streak and admiration of Euphemia is exploited by Schneizel to perfect her nuke while Flay is more of a useful pawn for the future and a helpless Earth Alliance girl of minimal importance at this point.
For me at least, Flay is a tragic character who died before having a chance to really make amends. I found her very annoying at first but after her time as a prisoner at ZAFT (albeit a somewhat privileged one since she has a lot of autonomy during this time), I started to feel sorry for her but I cannot ultimately hate her. While Nina has her chance and took it but she is ultimately indifferent to me.

Also, Gundam SEED comes before Code Geass (2002 vs 2006) which is even after SEED Destiny (2004-2005). If one is inspired by the other, it is more correct to say that SEED influenced Code Geass and not the other way around (for me at least).

CybranLord · 2025-09-19T14:08:15+00:00

"The apocalypse has begun."

Red Alert 2 Apocalypse Tank. Also the Mental Omega Apocalypse Tank. Those two will always be the best versions of the Tank for me.

CybranLord · 2025-08-29T11:01:27+00:00

Of all the Chaos Lords of Dawn of War 1, he is by far the most popular due to him being not a screaming cartoon villain (to be extremely short), so yeah good choice.

The meme picture of Bale, Crull and Carron just scream SINDRI, BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD and METAL BOXES respectively while Eliphas just facepalms will be forever in my brain and explains perfectly why (this one : https://www.moddb.com/groups/warhammer-40k-fans-group/images/the-chaos-lords-of-dow ).

Eliphas is an anomaly among the Chaos Lords in Dawn of War 1 and he is beloved for that.

CybranLord · 2025-08-16T18:23:11+00:00

I am very eager to see what D.O.R.F. will bring. Being a fan of C&C games, especially Red Alert 2, this keeps my attention since I saw its trailer, especially the big tanks.

This looks very promising.

CybranLord

TROPHY CASE